Scott’s POV“Rory?” I called out. I put my hands in my pockets and couldn’t believe I had run into her there. I looked behind her and saw Justin looking pitiful behind bars. She looked distressed, and I was happy that she looked relieved and excited to see me.“Scott! What are you doing here?” she asked. I pulled her in and kissed her forehead. I was tired of this guy always meddling with Rory. This time, I didn't want to hide my relationship with Rory anymore, even if it meant risking Justin spilling our secret to others. I wanted to get rid of Justin once and for all.I hoped he would see how foolish he was to ever let her go. It took a lot of my self-control to keep from pushing her against the wall and taking her right in front of Justin. “Well, I was here on business and I heard a dog barking. I thought I’d come to check it out,” I said, looking back at Justin. Justin turned up and looked at me now and seemed very distressed. His face turned red and I thought I could
Scott’s POVI watched as Rory sat at the desk with a mess of papers in front of her. She looked so studious going over all her work and information. “What are you working on over there, sweetie?” I asked, popping another grape into my mouth. Rory looked up at me for only the briefest of moments before looking back down. “I’m working on this dual program that my friend Zoe talked to me about. She said it was possible to do a master's program with credits that apply to a doctorate that includes a study abroad portion. I’m doing my homework and looking over my academic portfolio and sending it to my counselor for consideration.” I was a little surprised but mostly impressed with her tenacity and determination. She pulled out a few textbooks and started going over more answers as she reviewed assignments on the computer. She was beyond brilliant, and I loved that about her. I watched her work as I continued to put together other work that I had for clients and grading papers. I
Rory’s POV“What the actual fuck?” I choked out. My whole body was shaking with both fear and anger. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. My mom rolled her eyes and tossed back the covers. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and started shaking off all the tubes that were still stuck in her. “Did you really think you were so sneaky, that it wasn’t totally obvious that something was going on?” she asked. “I was thinking that it was none of your business, that’s why I didn’t tell you. I was thinking that you would respect my privacy and for once not throw me under the bus! Obviously, I was wrong. You haven’t changed one bit,” I snapped. She rolled her eyes. “Oh, boo hoo. You’re so mistreated and hurt. I’m sure your friend Needy will be there to support you. Oh, wait… no, probably not after she hears about you and her dad.” “How did you even find out?” I demanded. “You shouldn’t leave your phone just lying around, honey. That’s how people learn private thing
Rory’s POVI couldn't help but cry while bandaging Scott and I kept apologizing to him. He kept patting my head, saying it was okay, but my tears wouldn't stop. The nurse nearby thought I was just overly worried about Scott's injury and tried to comfort me, saying it was just a scrape. As the blood streamed from Scott's arm, I felt dizzy and nauseous. I ran to the bathroom to throw up. I vomited for a while, as if I was emptying everything from my stomach. Could it be that I was pregnant? Was this karma? I hated myself. I plunged my head into cold water, trying to clear my mind. Memories of Scott and me, those intimate moments, replayed in my head like a movie. The bomb buried in my heart, which had always made me anxious, finally exploded at this moment. I stared into the mirror at the pale, haunted figure, feeling more and more like a stranger. My phone rang in my pocket. Scott had texted me, asking where I was. I replied briefly, collected myself, and walked out of the
Rory’s POVI wanted to disappear in my apartment. I still had not completely recovered from my emotional upheaval with Needy. I finished class and started to feel really stressed.She had been going out of her way to avoid any kind of connection or contact with me, not that I blamed her. I still felt guilty and horrible, and I tried to focus on what Scott had told me: our relationship wasn’t wrong. The situation was just handled poorly. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I couldn’t even bring myself to go to work, but my professor had asked to speak with me after class and it was an interaction I couldn’t avoid. After class, I sighed and went along with her to her office. I slouched down in the seat across from her and waited. I wondered if she could see how out of it I felt. She sat down carefully and crossed her arms over the table. She looked at me sympathetically, and I knew I was about to get bad news. “So, I’m really sorry about this Rory, but it’s come to my attention th
Rory’s POVWhen I saw Eva and Scott together, I felt a sharp pain. Scott pushed her away and walked toward me, but I had already turned to leave.“Rory, wait! Rory, please stop and let me explain!” Scott called after me as I started walking away. I didn’t want to listen to him, though. I couldn’t stop the tears anymore and I couldn’t process anything else that was happening. I wasn’t sure there was anything that Scott could say that was going to make me feel better. I walked outside and hoped that Ben would still be there. I didn’t want to wait for an Uber and risk having Scott catch up to me. But as I pushed open the door, I saw that his car was no longer there. I texted him immediately and then started to pull up the Uber app in case he didn’t respond in time. “Rory!” Scott screamed, pushing the door open. “Please just leave me alone. I don’t want to hear what you have to say, Scott. If you want to be with her or anyone else, that’s your business, but I can’t deal with
Scott’s POVI couldn’t stop thinking about Rory. I wanted to see her or call her, but she had made it clear she needed some space. It took all I had to not call her again. Everything felt so much harder without her. I started throwing myself more into my work and getting somewhat obsessive about it. I started scheduling meetings and spending more time on the phone. I felt for a while that the phone was glued to my ear. “Damn it, Jack. I don’t care about the numbers. I’m telling you this isn’t going to fly. You need to do something about this!” I screamed. “Come on Scott, I’m doing the best I can here. Cut me some slack!” “No, that’s not good enough! The presentation is due on Friday! I can’t show them this,” I shouted, vaguely gesturing to the layout in front of me. “You need to figure this out and fix this!” “Scott, please!” “I don’t want to hear it! Just take care of it!” I slammed the phone down on the receiver and collapsed back in my chair. I opened up the files o
Rory’s POVI felt even worse than I had when I first started staying with Zoe. I came back to the apartment in tears and threw myself on the couch. “Rory, are you okay? What happened?” Zoe asked, putting away the last of the dishes. I waved my hands out dismissively. “I went to the hospital to see Scott. He really appreciated it, but it was hard knowing the situation. We had a really awful talk about what we do and where we go from here.” “What did you decide?” she asked. I shrugged. “Nothing really. We are going to keep taking a break but we haven’t decided anything. We won’t decide anything or talk about it again until Needy is better and we are sure she won’t try anything again. I am just so depressed. I know we need to take a break but this is so hard,” I cried. Zoe comforted me, and I felt a deep sense of guilt and self-blame for everything that had happened. I was worried about Needy's injuries, and I didn’t even know how long I cried or how long we talked. I only re